Wages: On average, union members earn about 20% more in wages than non-union workers.Health benefits: Union members are more likely to receive quality and affordable health benefits from their employers.

Retirement security: Union members are far more likely than other workers to have a guaranteed pension.

Other benefits on the job: Union members also have more vacation days, more paid leave, and greater job security.

A voice at work: Union members get to negotiate with management—as equals—over wages, benefits, and other issues.

Representation: As a union member, you have the right to union representation during an investigation that could lead to discipline.

Fair treatment: The “just cause” provision in your union contract means that management must apply discipline in a fair and consistent manner.

Your contract: Your wages, benefits, and working conditions are spelled out in writing in a legally-binding union contract, which is bargained for and voted on by union members.

Your right to union representation

If you’re called into a meeting that you think could lead to discipline, stop! Ask for union representation. You have a right not to be alone.

I request a union representative during this meeting. If you accuse me or ask me questions I believe may lead to my discipline, I have a right not to answer those questions and will continue to ask for a union representative until you comply with my request.

QFC had been requiring UFCW 21 members to fill out FMLA paperwork to receive sick leave pay across the region. This is not about the Seattle Sick Leave law. This is about our rights in our contract for when you are sick for three days or more so you can access your sick leave bank. Our win clarifies that they cannot withhold sick leave pay because you have not yet filed FMLA paperwork.

“The test of our movement’s commitment to our legacy is not whether we post Dr. King’s picture in our union halls, it is do we take up his fight when the going gets tough, when the fight gets real against the evils that still exist today.” -President Trumka, AFL CIO

The labor movement is most effective when members stand together with community support. The past year’s campaign for a fair contract with MultiCare was about workers having a voice on the job. When health care workers have a voice, they can advocate for their patients and themselves. This ensures that they have fair compensations which benefits them, their families and their communities.

UFCW 21

UFCW 21 is the largest private-sector union in Washington state, with over 45,000 members working in grocery store, retail, health care, meat processing and other industry jobs. UFCW 21 is a chartered member of UFCW International with over 1.4 million workers in North America.

To build a powerful Union that fights for economic, political and social justice in our workplaces and in our communities.